Kremlin: Swiss Summit on Ukraine, without Russia is Waste of Time

The Kremlin said on Tuesday it was understandable that some countries were declining to take part in a Swiss-hosted peace summit on Ukraine this month because the gathering lacked clear goals and it was absurd to hold it without Russia.
Ukraine says more than 100 countries and organizations have agreed to attend the summit on June 15-16, to which Moscow has not been invited.
“This is a completely absurd activity, this is an idle pastime,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He said it was obvious the meeting was not geared towards results, and “that’s why many countries don’t want to waste time.”
In a blow to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, China has said it will not take part – something Russian parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin noted with satisfaction in a Telegram post on Tuesday.
The meeting is taking place at a crucial point in the third year of the war in Ukraine, where Russian forces have recorded a series of gradual gains since February.